10 TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2022 ● FORUM ● THE JUSTICE
Justice
the
Established 1949
Brandeis University
Sofia Gonzalez Rodriguez, Editor in Chief Cameron Cushing, Managing Editor Gilda Geist, Senior Editor River Hayes, Deputy Editor Leeza Barstein, Jen Crystal, Jane Flautt, Gabriel Frank, Megan Geller, Hannah O’Koon, Noah Zeitlin, Associate Editors Jacklyn Golobordsky, Hannah Taylor, News Editors Natalie Khan, Features Editor Lauryn Williams, Forum Editor Taku Hagiwara, Sports Editor Jack Yuanwei Cheng, Photography Editor Thea Rose, Acting Photography Editor Ariella Weiss, Lynn Han, Copy Editors Aiko Schinasi, Ads Editor Samantha Goldman, Online Editor
EDITORIALS COVID-19 and students’ return to Campus As the Brandeis community heads into the first week of in-person classes, community members continue to voice concern and confusion surrounding the return of students to campus and the University’s policies to combat COVID-19 and its highly transmissible variant, Omicron. When University administrators announced that the first two weeks of classes would be remote in a Jan. 7 email to students, faculty, and staff, students were given the option of delaying their return to campus if they preferred to attend remote classes from a different location. While this decision has given students greater f lexibility in regards to travel and scheduling, it seems to contradict other efforts by the University to combat the spread of COVID-19, such as testing students who are on campus and quarantining them when needed in the first two weeks of the semester while classes were remote. Especially since some students did not return to campus until the weekend before in-person classes began, this board is concerned that students’ option to delay their return to campus might cause a surge in COVID-19 rates just as we all return to in-person activities. To avoid the increased risk of COVID-19 spreading after many students travel back to campus for in-person classes, the University should have required students to return with enough time to isolate if need be. The rationale behind this system that allowed a delayed return is unclear, and this board requests better communication from
Brandeis administration about why certain COVID-19 policies such as this are adopted moving forward. Another COVID-19 related policy that caused some confusion for students was the testing requirement for students prior to returning to campus. The University required all students that live on-campus to submit a COVID-19 test (either rapid or PCR) 24 hours before departing to return to campus for the spring semester. Although Brandeis provided a form for students to request a test kit if necessary, most students were expected to find a test on their own, despite at-home test shortages throughout the country. This board recommends that the University send test kits home with students before long breaks in order to simplify the testing process and to remove any financial or logistical barriers for students to get tested upon returning to campus. Although the University is not requiring that students have a particular kind of mask for classes, administrators are strongly encouraging community members to wear high-quality masks like N95s, KN95s, or KF94s, per a Jan. 26 email to the community. This board would like to remind students that in the coming weeks, certain pharmacies such as CVS and Walgreens will start to have free N95 masks in stock. You can check which Walgreens locations are currently offering free masks on their website, and their list will continue to be updated as more stores receive masks.
As students return back to campus, the University must be more proactive toward its operations A new year and a new semester have begun, and already we are facing questions about how the University will function under yet another COVID-19 surge. What seems like the inescapable grasp of COVID-19 has altered another semester, and students are forced to once again navigate changes to dining. This board would first like to acknowledge the sacrifice dining workers are making to feed our campus. Feeding a campus of this size under regular circumstances is not an easy task, but when you add COVID-19 into the mix, their work becomes that much harder. This board appreciates the dining services staff, and any and all criticisms offered about the current state of dining are not directed at dining services staff. This board would like to call attention to the issues surrounding the shipping container that was installed outside Upper Usdan for mobile order pickups. The container’s primary purpose was to “serve students who are self-isolating,” Direc-
tor of University Services Jeffrey Hershberger wrote in a Jan. 24 email to the Justice. “These students are not permitted in buildings outside of their assigned on-campus residence.” The shipping container will no longer be in use after Jan. 31, Hershberger wrote. How will self-isolating students access food starting in February? Furthermore, this short term shipping container solution generally seems to lack thoughtful consideration, and measures to replace the container are unclear. This is even more confusing given that the shipping container will no longer be used so soon after its installation. Per a Jan. 13 email, Sherman and Lower Usdan dining halls will stop exclusively offering take-out dining on Feb. 1. Why is dining hall seating being reopened right as students return to the classroom? This increases opportunities for exposure and is bad for the overall health of the community, and it has been poorly communicated to students.
It is also important to question where students can eat their meals. From University communication, it is unclear what dining options are carry-out only. Per a Jan. 26 email to the community, grab-and-go meals are still highly encouraged for on-campus students, while limited in-person seating will be offered in the dining halls starting this week. Yet the “Winter Break and Spring 2022 Reopening Hours” on Sodexo’s website make no mention of whether Upper Usdan meals will be fully carry-out. During the spring 2021 term, there were outdoor seating options available with heaters – this board wonders why students are not afforded the same outdoor dining options now, especially as
the Omicron variant continues to be a concern. These considerations reinforce our beliefs that the community could benefit from more sustainable solutions. Dining is a significant part of the college social experience. Especially for midyears arriving to campus for the first time, the dining halls are a crucial social hub where students can acclimate themselves to college life. Without transparency on in-person dining options, students are left with more questions than answers in this respect. This board requests more details from administrators in the coming days about the dining situation for students as we navigate the return to campus and activities.
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Seven school districts in Virginia have sued Gov. Glenn Youngkin following his executive order banning mask mandates in the state. The school districts argue that this act endangers the lives of students and teachers alike. Over the past two years there has been strife amongst our education and governmental systems as both parties attempt to find a balance between high quality education and safety. How is the recent surge in COVID-19 cases impacting educators and students? What is at stake when teachers don’t feel safe in the workplace? What actions does our own University administration need to take in order to make sure that faculty feel heard and seen?
Prof. Rachel Kramer Theodorou (EDU) I think about this topic often given my many vantage points as a parent of school age kids, spouse of a 4th grade teacher, former K-12 teacher, and Brandeis professor sending student teachers daily into classrooms. None of us love masks; they erase our human ability to read feelings from facial expressions, muffle voices hopeful of sharing ideas, and cause near claustrophobia from wearing them 6+ hours/day. But it’s not just the masks that tire teachers --it’s the perpetual lack of respect for the complexity of teaching that must be addressed. Lawmakers and the media need to live a day (weeks, really) in our shoes to experience the myriad of intellectually- and emotionally-charged dilemmas we address with every child, text, assignment, and activity. Just as public health officials pooled knowledge, resources and perspectives to deal with this pandemic stage by stage, we must do the same to address challenges facing in person teaching. Teachers have done ‘virtual backflips’ to sustain those ‘key to success relationships’ that are safeguarding student learning and well-being; we know what works online, in person, and even in masks. We must move beyond political threats, to partner with teachers as practical intellectuals, whose nimbleness and perseverance will transform schooling now, in this most challenging time, and in the future. Rachel Kramer Theodorou is a senior lecturer in education. Photo: Prof. Kramer Theodourou
Prof. Marya Levenson (EDU) Gov. Youngkin banned mask mandates to appeal to those in his base who are anti-vaccine and anti-mask. After all, he could have enabled individual districts to decide whether to have a mask mandate. (Youngkin also instituted a tip line where parents can complain about educators teaching content they don’t like.) Why are 58 Virginia school districts challenging this anti-mask mandate in court? They are advocating for their teachers and students who are immunocompromised or vulnerable to catching the virus. (Education Week reports that as of Sept. 1, 2021, 1,045 US educators had died from COVID-19.) Does this mean that students should be forced to wear masks forever? We know that masks are part of an effective strategy combining vaccinations, masks, and testing which is working at Brandeis. But as this pandemic seems to stretch on forever, let’s research what occurs when there are thoughtful options such as Massachusetts enabling K-12 schools to make masks optional where 80% or more of their students are vaccinated. Prof. Marya Levenson a professor of the practice emerita of education. Photo: Prof. Levenson
Prof. Ziva Hassenfeld (EDU) Along with its dire public health impacts, COVID-19 has also caused an educational crisis. Never before in American history have schools been so disrupted for so long. The extent of the impacts on our children — both academic achievement and mental health — are only beginning to be understood. Unfortunately, COVID-19 became deeply politicized and schools turned into sites for partisan conflict. We know that widespread mask use reduces the spread of disease, and from that perspective, should have been quickly and widely adopted by all those who hoped to keep schools open. At the same time, we have learned that social distancing and indoor air quality also make an important difference in reducing transmission. But there are wide disparities in the resources available to schools to make sure that schools could be reopened safely. Many teachers were asked to return to work in settings where their classrooms lacked windows that opened or running water to encourage hand hygiene. The pandemic should shine a bright light on the deep inequities that persist in our public education system and the need for major investment in the infrastructure of schools.
Prof. Ziva Hassenfeld is an assistant professor of Jewish education. Photo: Prof. Hassenfeld
